Honeypot
by msjgatsby
Summary: Paige is uncomfortable with Mike going under as bait.
1. Chapter 1

Paige sighs as she finally turns off the hot water and steps out of the shower. She had a solid run this afternoon after she got out of work and now she's feeling clean and recharged. She starts to mentally plan the rest of her evening as she wraps her towel around her and uses another to dry her hair. First thing is, she needs food. She knows she has nothing in the fridge downstairs, so unless she wants to eat stale cereal for dinner, she'll need to go out or order in. She wonders if anyone would go with her.

Seeing the light on in Mike's room, her stomach twists. She knows who she wants to accompany her to dinner. Her and Mike are doing better these days. They're not anywhere near as close as they used to be before Sylmar, but they're better. They can be in the same room together. They are working well in the field together. Sometimes they even manage to make the other smile, though always in a group of people. Never alone together.

Yesterday she thought she might have caught him staring at her the way he used to. The moment was over so quickly, she wasn't sure it happened. It was during a meeting on Jakes' possible whereabouts. She had looked up and caught him staring at her with what looked like longing, and her stomach had filled with butterflies in response. He had definitely been staring.

That settled it. She would ask Mike to dinner. As friends of course. They could handle a friendly dinner with only the two of them. It wasn't a date. It didn't need to be strange. It would be nice. It had been so long since they had talked about anything real. Since they'd laughed together. Since they'd been alone together.

"Hey Levi, I'm hungry. Want to go grab Thai food with me tonight?" Paige asks, popping her head into the room, hoping she sounded casual and not too eager.

"Can't. I have plans." Mike says, not even looking over his shoulder at her, as he fixes the collar of his shirt.

Paige looks him up and down. He's freshly showered himself, and dressed up in dark pants and a blue button up shirt. Paige always loved that color on him. It made his eyes look even more intense.

"You look nice." Paige teases, leaning in the doorway, "Hot date?"

"Yeah. Briggs is setting me up. We're doubling tonight." Mike responds, still not paying her as much attention as she'd like, instead he fusses with his hair.

"Wait really?" Paige asks, so taken off guard by this new information, that she crosses the invisible boundary into Mike's room.

Her and Mike are doing better, but they're not anywhere near the point they once were when they just walked into each other's rooms. She didn't know he was dating again. She'd heard a rumor he'd slept with a junkie while he was in his oxy stage, but otherwise she didn't know either of them had moved on after the disaster that was the two of them together. Sure, it had been long enough that she shouldn't be surprised, but somehow, this seems unexpected. She wraps her towel tighter around her body.

"It's for the Mantona op. I'm trying to get under with the boss's daughter. Brigg's says she has a thing for clean cut blondes." Mike glances in the mirror at her briefly, like he's judging her reaction. She gets self conscious wondering if he caught the way her shoulders relaxed a little at finding out this was a work related event and not a real date. Still that alone brings up a whole new set of questions. Honeypot operations were her specialty, not Mike's.

"You're running a honeypot? Really? You sure you're up for that?" Paige asks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike looks over his shoulder, pausing as he picks up his tie off his desk.

"Nothing. Never mind." Paige blushes, realizing her question sounds rude and not wanting to explain her surprise.

"Don't 'nothing' me. You do these stings all the time." Mike turns around to face her, the tie hanging open over his shoulders. "How is it different when I go under? Because I'm a man?"

"No! It's just… It just doesn't seem like your thing." Paige walks forward to start tying his tie, just to give herself something to do with her hands and somewhere to look other than his blue eyes which are staring into hers questioningly.

"I may not have your skills of seduction, but I do ok." Mike smirks down at her, and Paige rolls her eyes. She's obviously not saying he's not attractive enough to get a girl. He knows he's good looking, and he knows Paige thinks so. In fact in another life, she might have even thought he was flirting with her just now.

"It's not that, it's just-" Paige bites her lip and concentrates on the tie, not knowing how to phrase her hesitance without it becoming a thing.

"What then?" Mike asks, his hands clearly itching to run through his hair the way he did when he was frustrated with her, but unwilling to mess up his well gelled locks.

"Well, it's just you haven't exactly been able to sell it in the past." Paige lets the words tumble out one after another. She tightens the tie to a knot quickly and steps back out of his personal space.

Mike stares at her for a moment as he takes in her words. Comprehension dawns over his face as he realizes what she's thinking.

"You mean Jessica." He finally says the words out loud that they have never talked about after the night she went missing.

"Yeah." Paige says, brushing her hands on her thighs and taking another step back.

"That was different." Mike takes a step forward, mirroring hers.

"Yeah, right." Paige scoffs sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She really doesn't want to be having this conversation. The memory of finding out he was sleeping with his boss leaves a sick taste in her mouth. She reaches out for the shiny silver tie clip on his dresser. Trying to change the subject before things get too serious, she straightens his tie and clips it in place, "Here, you're going to need this if you're going to pull off 'rich playboy'."

"It was different." Mike insists again, taking her hand to stop her from fussing with the tie clip, not letting her change this subject until she admitted he was right.

"Why? Because you'd already slept with her?" Paige scoffs, pulling her hand out from under his.

As soon as she hears the words fall from her mouth, she knows she's starting a fight that should have expired a year ago. Why on earth would they have this fight now? It didn't matter anymore. They haven't dated, or whatever it was they were doing, in over a year. There had been one night she woke up to him asleep against her door in the hallway, but she was fairly certain that was just guilt from him abandoning her when she was with Toros. They'd never talked about it, and they'd certainly never talked about any of their drama that occurred before that.

"Because I was in love with you." Mike cuts through all the bullshit to stare her down, not allowing her to brush this off. "I couldn't do it, because all I could think about was you."

"You didn't sleep with her?" Paige looks up at him in shock, the hope in her voice sounding foreign.

"Not after you and I were together." Mike says, looking at her like he's trying to read her every emotion, like he's confused as to why she seems surprised by this information. "I told you it was over. I told you I couldn't. Did you not believe me?"

"No, you said you went to bed with her." Paige argues, because she vividly remembers that conversation. _She made me a drink. She kissed me. I kissed her back. We got into bed._

"I tried. I tried for you. I couldn't. It all felt wrong, and then she knew." Mike says sadly, his eyes locked with hers.

"She knew what?" Paige asks, unable to tear her eyes away from Mike's

"She knew I was in love with you. She could see it. Everyone could. Everyone except you." Mike shrugs modestly. Like it's not a big deal what he's saying. It's just a sad truth he'd learned to accept. Like this wasn't completely new information he was dropping in her lap a year after the fact.

"Mike-" Paige begins to step towards him but she's not sure what she's going to say.

"Don't worry, I'll get the job done this time." Mike cuts her off, stepping around her and heading out the door. "Thanks for the help. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Mike!" Paige calls after him, and he pauses warily before turning around.

She stares at him. She assumed words would come, they always do, but she's just staring at him and he's not saying anything. She finally forces a shaky smile and just says "Be safe tonight."

"She's a 98 pound ballerina at a nice restaurant. Short of choking on filet mignon, I think I'll be safe." Mike laughs dryly. "Enjoy your Thai food."

Paige is left standing alone in Mike's bedroom, her appetite completely gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Paige is sitting cross legged on the couch in the living room, not really paying attention to the Netflix special that's playing in the background. She's nursing the third beer in her six pack. It's a little past ten o'clock. How long did dinner take? Were they going to be out all night?

By now, she's had a chance to think through the strange events of the evening, and has decided that she probably overreacted earlier. Mike wasn't saying he was in love with her _now_, he was just saying he used to be in love with her. It was perfectly natural to make that mistake in a fling. For a moment, she'd thought she loved him too. That was what good sex did. It tricked you. And sex with Mike had been SO good.

The sex between her and Mike had been undeniably earth shattering, which meant her new habit of her stomach filling with butterflies every time Mike was near wasn't real feelings. It was just a symptom of the fact that she hadn't gotten any in awhile, and she needed to get laid. Since Mike was the last man she'd slept with, it was natural she'd have that reaction with him. This weekend, she'd convince Charlie or Johnny to take her out to a bar. Somewhere with good music and easy company. Then she'd find a new guy and stop fixating on the handsome agent one room down. It was a good plan.

She hears the door open and close and sits up straighter. Briggs and Mike are home.

"Hey, how'd the op go?" Paige turns around on the couch to ask cheerily.

She had been practicing that line earlier, and had achieved just the right balance of cheerfully not really interested, just making small talk. It's not like she was waiting up for him. She was just catching up on her Netflix shows, whatever the heck it was named. Something about attractive people all hooking up with each other and fighting crime.

Mike ignores the question, storming past her and disappears up the stairs. A moment later he slams the door so hard she heard it echo from downstairs.

Paige looks over at Briggs for an explanation for Mike's moodiness. Briggs seems calm and not at all bothered by the young agent's temper.

"That bad, huh?" Paige asks him, slightly stunned by Mike's dramatic entrance.

"We made some progress, but I think the daughter angle is out." Briggs shrugs, sitting beside her on the couch and grabbing one of her unopened beers for himself.

"She didn't fall for the honeypot huh?" Paige can't keep her smile from flicking across her face.

"Oh, she fell for it. She fell hard." Briggs chuckles, and Paige's stomach twists uncomfortably. She should have had that cereal for dinner before she started in on her liquid diet of beer.

"Then what happened?" She asks, beyond acting aloof. If the ballerina had taken the bait, why was Mike so pissed off?

"Beats me. Everything was going according to plan, faster than expected really. We left the restaurant and went back to her cousin's house. I'm working the cousin for information on the couch, and she took Mike into the side bedroom. Next thing I know, I hear screaming, and not the good kind." Briggs takes a sip of his beer and kicks his feet up. "Things got pretty crazy after that. Of course I only heard part of it, because the cousin's tongue was in my ear."

"So wait, they got in a fight? What about?" Paige is way too interested at this point and it doesn't escape Briggs' attention.

"I'm not taking part of your lovers quarrel. You want answers, talk to Mike." Briggs tells her bluntly.

"We're not-" Paige starts to argue for the 100th time since Mike first arrived at Graceland that there was nothing between them, but she figures it's pointless. No one believes them. Briggs just raises a challenging eyebrow at her, sipping his beer with a judging look on his face.

"We haven't- I mean yeah, there was a few weeks when we were, but there's been nothing between us for like a year. That ship has sailed." Paige says, crossing her arms over her chest and downing the rest of her beer.

"Uh-huh. Then what's with the puppy dog eyes you two have been passing each other for the past few weeks?"

"We're not-" Paige starts to argue again, but Briggs comes back with more evidence.

"Last month when you were deep under with Cosmo and couldn't come home, Mike filed a record amount of paperwork with the FBI, and everytime he was there, he seemed to pop by DEA to talk to Carol."

"Sounds like he's flirting with Carol. So I don't see what that has to do with me." Paige says, completely aware that though a handsome woman, at 62 years old, Carol was probably not Mike's type.

"Or maybe Carol was the one who filed updates on your case when you were able to check in, and Mike was worried about you." Briggs draws a far more logical conclusion for Mike's behavior. "And then last week at sauce night, you saved him a plate when he was late to dinner."

"It was the nice thing to do." Paige insisted. "I can be nice."

"You didn't save Johnny a plate. He was on the same raid as Mike." Briggs points out.

"Johnny ate my leftover Hector's. He didn't deserve the sauce." Paige defends her actions, "Look Briggs, just tell me what happened tonight with the honeypot operation! What happened?"

"Are you worried he slept with her or worried that he didn't?" Briggs asks.

"Fine! Forget it! Not my case. Not my business." Paige stands up, tired of Briggs insinuations.

What did it matter if Mike slept with the girl or not? He was home safe. That was the important thing. Now she could just go to bed. She grabs the remaining two beers and heads upstairs. If Briggs was going to be such an ass and imply there was something going on with her and Mike she certainly wasn't going to leave him with her last beers. She'd drink them both herself. Or she could give one to Mike. He had come into the house in such a bad mood maybe he needed it. They could have a friendly beer. They were friends now. They'd worked hard to get to this point. She doesn't find him in his room, so she heads into the common bathroom.

"Hey. I heard the op didn't go well. Are you ok?" Paige enters the common bathroom to find Mike stripped down to the tanktop he wore under the formal shirt. His blue formal shirt he had formerly worn was now bloody and torn laying on the ground.

"It was fine." Mike growls, sounding pissed and focusing on his arm. He didn't even bother to look in her direction.

"That doesn't look fine." Paige sets down her beers on the sink and walks over to where Mike is trying to tend to a gouge on his left arm.

"I said it's fine." Mike barks again at her.

"Let me help." Paige scolds him, pushing his hands away. Mike's hands clench on the sink counter behind him, as he looks down at the ground in a stormy silence, allowing her to examine his arm.

"How'd this happen?" Paige asks, taking a damp towel to try to dab away some of the blood.

"She stabbed me." Mike's voice is short and clipped.

"She what?!" Paige jerks her head up in surprise.

"She stabbed me! Ok?" Mike again tries to rip his arm from her hands. Paige holds onto his bicep, keeping him there, not sure why this anger is being taken out on her.

"Hold still." Paige says, reaching for the gauze. It feels like he's angry at her, and she can't figure out why. She's just trying to help. "Look if you don't want to talk about it…"

"I couldn't sleep with her and she got pissed and she stabbed me with my tie clip!" Mike barks, and Paige looks up and sure enough he is glaring down at her. He isn't just mad, he's mad at her. "You were right, Paige! I couldn't do it. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Why are you mad at me?" Paige looks at him confused. "I didn't stab you!"

"Because you got in my head!" He straightens up so he can do his best to tower over her with his extra four inches of height.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything earlier. It's not my case. It's none of my business." Paige apologizes. She really should have kept her doubts to herself. It's not like her and Mike were close anymore.

"I'm not talking about earlier!" Mike jerks his arm away from her.

"Then what are you-" Paige is thoroughly confused by this point.

"Ever since I've met you, you've been in my head!" Mike screams.

"Look, I get you're upset. Mike, I've been running honeypot operations for years. They're risky, and they're difficult. Don't feel bad if-" Paige tries to calm him down. She knows Mike hated failing at things, but this wasn't his fault. Of course she didn't think it was her fault either, but if he needed someone to lash out at she could take it. To a point. She'd make him apologize later.

"No, I should be able to do this!" Mike starts angrily pacing.

"Mike, no one expects you to whore yourself out. Yes that is one way of working an operation, but it's not for everyone. We all have our lines we don't cross. You're a good agent." Paige tries to calm him down.

"I get it Paige! I'm not a fucking child." Mike comes back at her, and Paige isn't sure why he's making this so personal. She understands he's upset about the case, and maybe she should have been more supportive earlier, but he's taking this way too far.

"Look, I'm sorry! Sometimes plays don't work! You know that! Paul said no damage was done. You'll find another angle." Paige once again tries to calm him down.

"Forget it. You are the last person-" Mike tries to storm past her and out the door, but she grabs his arm to stop him from leaving.

"No! Talk to me! Are you seriously mad at me about this? How is this my fault?" Paige demands.

"Because of this." Without warning Mike wraps his good arm around her waist, and pulls her to him in a violent kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

"Because of this." Without warning Mike wraps one arm around her waist, and pulls her to him in a violent kiss. His other hand comes up to cradle her face as he kisses her, desperately trying to make her understand. The kiss takes her off guard, but she recovers quickly, kissing him back on instinct. Her hands come up to grip his back as he pushes her backwards towards the wall for balance.

Her back hitting the wall jerks her back to reality as she realizes what's happening. It's been so long since her and Mike have done anything like this. After what she's done, she doesn't know how he can stand to still look at her, let alone be kissing her like he needs her to survive. Her mind tries to look back on the evening for clues of how they'd got here. He had been so angry at her, and now he was pinning her to a wall, kissing her with more force than he ever has before.

"Mike…" She gasps against his lips.

"Shut up." He growls, like he can hear her overthinking it. He continues kissing her fiercely, but his voice turns to a whine as he begs her, "Just shut up, Paige."

He continues pressing his lips against hers, his whole body pushing hers back into the wall, and his tongue deep in her mouth. It all feels so familiar, even though it had been over a year since they'd been like this. Even then, it had never been this passionate. It's like the entire year of being apart was all bottled up and had to come pouring out in one unexpected kiss. Paige gives in with a sigh, her body melting against Mike's as she turns off trying to figure out what they're doing and just enjoy the moment. It feels so damn good being back in Mike's arms. She doesn't care how she got here or when it will end.

"I should be over you." Mike gasps against her lips, "God, I just want to be over you."

The words almost break Paige's heart because she knows it's true. He shouldn't feel this way about her, she doesn't deserve it. He doesn't want to. She doesn't know how else she can push him away, because she's done more than is forgivable. Any sane man would have gone back to DC long ago, but she's too weak to walk away from him now. She doesn't want him to get over her...

"I want to be under you." Paige whispers in his ear, nipping at it.

Mike pulls back to stare at her hungrily, taking a moment to weigh the sincerity of her words, before reaching down to the hem of her shirt. She raises her arms, and he pulls it over her head, his eyes watching her for any sign of disapproval. When he finds none, he lets his eyes drop to her bra admiring the way her breasts rise up and down with each breath. He stares at her like she's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, taking in each inch of skin under the harsh bathroom lighting. He slides one arm up the bathroom wall behind her head, and the other hand he lets trail down her body until he pauses at the hem of her sweatpants. His eyes come up to meet her questioningly, and she nods just ever so slightly. He slips his hand under the hem and traces the line of her underwear with his finger tips.

"You drive me crazy." He swallows hard as he admits it.

"Then leave me here." Paige challenges him. She knows she would deserve it. She doesn't deserve Mike and the way he's staring at her right now. She gave up any right to that when she gave his name to Sid Markum.

"I should." Mike stares at her with lust glazed eyes, and they both know he won't.

"Then do it." A part of her hopes he will. That he's stronger than her and will walk away, because she knows she can't. They bring out the worst in each other, they really do. Sometimes the best, but more often than not the worst. She doesn't know if they'll survive another round.

"Paige." He whispers her name like it's a holy prayer, and with one inch forward his lips are softly pressed to hers. The innocent kiss makes a tear spill down her cheek. She puts her arms around his neck unaware of what this was and why they couldn't stop. Mike kisses the tear away, his arm wrapping around her waist pulling her even closer.

"What happened today?" She asks, as he gently kisses her neck, his fingertips stroking her sides. She doesn't know how they got here, what's happening in Mike's brain. She used to read him so well, now he's a mystery to her.

"Today you were right. I couldn't do it, Paige. She started undoing my tie, and all I could think about was you helping me tie it earlier and suddenly I just couldn't." Mike rests his forehead to hers, one arm continues to hold her waist to him while his other hand slides lower between her legs and his fingers gently probe for entry. His eyes remain locked on hers, but she closes her eyes in pleasure and bites her lip as his finger slips inside her.

"I wanted you from the moment I saw you. You knew that." Mike kisses the corner of her mouth, his free hand coming up to cup her face, "You were such a tease. Should I tease you Paige?"

"Mike, please…" Paige is begging as Mike adds another finger.

"I swear, I wasn't waiting or anything. I knew we were over. Knew you would never see me as anything but the guy who ripped you out of Sylmar." She starts to object, wanting again to explain and apologize, but he covers her mouth with his and kisses her until she's quiet before he comes back to whispering in her ear..

"Let me talk for once." He admonishes her, kissing her and curling his fingers, making it almost impossible for her to think let alone talk. They're bad at talking, but so good at this. Paige sighs. Mike would try to use their physical compatibility as an excuse to try for conversation. He twists his fingers, and she bucks her hips against his hand.

"I don't want to talk anymore." Paige gasps, reaching her hand down to move his wrist out of her sweats.

"I need to tell you this, Paige." Mike's eyes are pleading. "Please just let me get it out once. I've been having this conversation over and over with myself, I'm driving myself crazy. I just need to talk to you. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed this too." Paige says, pushing her sweats down her legs.

"No." Mike's fingers dig into her bare hip and he kisses her deeply trying to make her understand, "I've missed everything. I've missed this… but I've missed you."

"I've been here." Paige gasps as soon as Mike's lips wander away from hers.

"I know, but every time we're in a room together there's too much space. I need you closer. Need you here." Mike presses his entire body up against hers, kissing her neck like he can't get close enough to her. Pinning her to the wall like he's afraid she'll run away if he gives her even an inch of space.

"Fine… you can talk, but only if you can multitask."


	4. Chapter 4

"Fine… you can talk, but only if you can multitask." Paige grins against his lips as she unbuttons his pants. She reaches into his boxers to pull out his already hard cock, rubbing it against her entrance.

"Fuck, Paige…" Mike hisses as she lines him up and angles her hips so the tip slips inside her. "I really… fuck… really need to talk to you."

"So talk." Paige challenges, rolling her hips so he sinks inside her.

"God, I…" Mike bites his lip as he feels her tight around him for the first time in forever, "Fuck, why do you make everything so hard?"

"Do I make you hard Mike? Good, you make me so wet." Paige whispers naughtily in his ear with a grin as he thrusts himself against her again and again.

"Fuck. That's not what I meant and you know it." Mike groans even as her words affect him, "I don't mean dirty talk. I want… to… talk."

"Can't it wait?" Paige moans, this is the first time she's had sex in forever, and it feels even better than she remembered. She just wants to enjoy herself and focus on the feeling of him filling her again and again. She doesn't know how he can be thinking of anything else at this moment.

"I've been waiting… I need you to know… I tried to move on, I swear to god I did, Paige. The only time I came even close to sleeping with someone else, I was high as a kite and pretended she was you." Mike's voice echos off the empty bathroom walls along with the sounds of his dick thrusting in and out of her wet center. "I wanted so badly for it to be you. I got so high I could barely move. I think the reason I started using in the first place was just to drown out the ache I felt for you."

"I'm sorry. So sorry." Paige is overwhelmed by the conflicting emotions inside her. The guilt, the ecstacy, the annoyance, the confusion. She feels a million emotions bubbling up inside her as her orgasm builds. She clings to him tighter, and bites down hard on his shoulder.

"Getting clean was the hardest thing I've ever done, but even after surviving all that, I still can't get over you. Why can't I stop craving you?" Mike groans, picking her up from the wall and moving her to the sink ledge where he can get better leverage.

"I thought if I waited long enough it would fade. I'd get you out of my system. That I'd detox, but it just fucking never happened." Mike kisses are punishing, his fingers tangling up in her hair his free hand working it's way between them to rub her roughly.

"I thought.. eventually I'd meet someone new who would help me forget but, every girl I'd meet wasn't you. She'd be too loud, or too quiet, or her eyes weren't just the right shade of green." Mike stops kissing her just long enough to rest his forehead against hers and stare into her green eyes as he slows down his thrusts to go slow and deep. He watches her eyes dilate in surprise with a small smile breathing out, "So fucking perfect."

"Mike-" Paige gasps, the unfiltered eye contact increasing the intimacy and pushing her rapidly towards her breaking point. She's going to cum soon. She knows it.

"I'm so fucking sick of pretending Paige. Pretending I'm ok. Pretending I don't want you every minute of every day." Mike leans in to kiss her again, but her mouth is open and screaming for release and he swallows her cries while he grabs her hips and thrusts rapidly in and out of her.

"Mike!" Paige screams out his name as he pushes her over the edge. He swallows his name from her lips while she breaks apart, and kisses her softly as she comes down.

"You look incredible when you cum for me. No other woman looks like that." Mike breathes against her lips, "I just… I wanted to see it one last time."

"Last time?" Paige repeats, opening her eyes to stare into his.

"I have to get over you Paige. I have to leave. You know that." Mike's hips stop moving as he begs her to see what he knows.

"You'll find another girl. One who deserves you… You've done it before-" Paige moves her hips, trying to get him back to screwing her. He had to get over her eventually. "You don't have to leave, Mike."

"No, it was harmless then. I didn't know. I didn't know what you looked like when you woke up, how it would feel to come home and have you waiting for me with a smile, how you'd taste." Mike's tongue darts out to lick her lips as he starts slowly building up a tempo to finish fucking her. "Back then, it was just a crush, but after I actually had you and lost you… How do I go back?"

She looks up to his eyes and see he's actually asking her a question and she doesn't know the answer.

"How do I go back, Paige?" His voice cracks as he whispers in her ear. Paige doesn't answer but she pushes herself off the sink, taking his hand to direct him over to the bench. She sits him down and then climbs into his lap.

"No more talking." She presses her lips to his and sinks down onto him.

He kisses her again and again, muttering her name as he thrusts up inside her. All she knows is she won't be able to sit for a week after this, but it's going to be so worth it because he's going to make her cum again as he pushes her farther than she thinks her body can take. She rides him until he makes a familiar gargled noise she hasn't heard in far too long and thrusts himself up deep inside her, filling her full of his release. The thought of him cumming inside her makes her cum again and she clenches around him. It's a miracle no roommates have walked into the public room to see what all the noise was about. Then again, the noise was probably what kept them away.

Mike sighs, looking up at her now that their lovemaking is done. Like he's expecting her to flee the room now that they're sated. Paige leans down and kisses him softly, trying to wipe that sad look off his face.

"Do you want to go get dinner? I never got that Thai food, and I'm still kind of hungry. We should bandage you up first. Christ it looks like a murder scene in here." Paige looks around to see bloody handprints on the sink from where she held on after holding Mike's injured arm.

"You go get food. I'll clean up in here." Mike says, helping her off his lap and crossing the room to find his pants to get dressed again. Putting his belt back on, he says without making eye contact he says, "I have to get some paperwork done tonight before bed, and I'm kind of tired."

"What sort of paperwork?" Paige asks suspiciously as he tosses her her clothes.

"Transfer papers." He says, looking her straight in the eye. "If I start now, I should be cleared in two weeks. Just enough time to find an apartment out there."

"Mike you don't need to leave." Paige starts to argue with him. She doesn't think tonight means that everything is fixed between them, but it certainly doesn't mean he needs to run away.

"No, I do." Mike says resolutely.

"Mike, if it's because-"

"I can't operate here, Paige. I screwed up the mission today. Briggs will fix it, but I screwed up."

"Mike it was only one case. It's not-"

"It's not only that. Last week when that banger hit you, Johnny had to tackle me to keep me from rushing in and blowing your cover. Last month, when you went under deep with Cosmo, I fell asleep at the wheel, because after Sylmar, I still can't sleep until I know you're home safe." Paige sees his eyes cloud dark at the memory,. "Even when you're home, I hardly sleep because I know you're just a door down the hall if I only had the courage to knock. I could go on. Give you a list of times I've compromised the case because of my feelings for you… Maybe in DC. Maybe I'll actually have a shot at forgetting you."

Paige's throat seizes up at those words, because as selfish as it may seem, Mike forgetting her is the most terrifying thought she can think of.

"You're sure you can't do that here?" Paige asks, her voice shaky.

"I can't." Mike puts on a brave smile. "Come on. First time we kissed you filled out the transfer papers for me. You know as well as I do. We don't work."

"I know." Paige feels like all the fight is gone out of her. "Promise me you'll say goodbye before you go."

"Of course." Mike says kindly, "Go get something to eat."

Paige grabs her beers and manages to make it all the way into her room before the tears start to fall.


	5. Chapter 5

Paige is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling but sleep doesn't come. She's been lying in silence so long she jumps when she hears the soft knock on the door. She checks her face in the mirror to make sure there's no evidence of tears left, and then pads across the room to open the door.

"Hey." Mike says standing sheepishly in her doorway.

"Hi." She lets out a soft sigh of relief, genuinely happy to see him standing in her door. She didn't like the way things had ended earlier. She didn't like the thought of any ending with Mike. "What's up?"

"I saw your light was still on and well," He seems at a loss for words for a moment, and then holds up bags of takeout Thai food in explanation. "I thought you might still be hungry."

"Thank you." Paige smiles, "Come on in."

Mike takes a deep breath and then walks into her room. She grabs a throw blanket off the foot of her bed and spreads it out across the floor like a picnic blanket.

Mike kneels down on the floor and starts unpacking the canisters of takeout he got. Paige grabs some pillows for them to sit on. She looks at the candle next to her bed, and considers lighting it, but then rethinks it, not knowing what Mike's mood is at the moment. This could just be a friendly apology, or a peace offering before another fight. She sits across from him cross legged on a pillow, and the two begin to eat in relative silence.

"How's your arm?" She asks, trying to suss out his intentions behind his visit.

"It'll heal." Mike shrugs, filling his mouth with noodles.

"Not that I'm not grateful, but why the midnight picnic?" Paige asks, gesturing to the feast of practically the entire menu of Onny's Thai Restaurant.

"I finished my paperwork. I felt a little hungry, and I knew you hadn't eaten all night." Mike says casually, looking down at his bowl, his mouth still full as he mumbled.

"So you finished your paperwork, huh?" Paige continues the charade of casual chitchat. He was still leaving. Maybe this was a goodbye dinner.

"Yep." Mike answers nonchalantly.

"When are you going to file it?" Paige tries to sound like she's just making polite conversation. She quiets the voice in her head that wants to scream at him not to go.

"Tomorrow morning I guess. No need for stalling any longer. It'll probably take a few weeks to process as it is." Mike uses his chopsticks to swish his vegetables around in the sauce.

"Maybe wait a few weeks? I've got a big case I could really use your help in." Paige keeps her tone even and neutral to match his almost bored tone, but she's lying out her ass.

"What's going on?" Mike asks, and Paige almost laughs at how genuinely curious he sounds at the thought of a new puzzle to solve. He would be wasted in DC.

"Well my CI Ronald says that..." Paige starts to tell Mike about one of her old dud cases, wondering how she can embellish this enough to peak Mike's interest.

"Is this your East side case?" Mike interrupts.

"Yeah." Paige says, remembering she'd already complained to Mike about how she was bored with this minor case and was thinking of cutting off her CI.

"Sounds like you've got it handled. I'd just be in the way. Besides, I think some of Bellos guys transferred over there, and they know my face, if you really want help with it, Johnny's the guy."

"Well you should at least wait until Charlie's birthday celebration. She'd be-" Paige tries for another angle but Mike's hand on hers stops her.

"If I don't file this paperwork now, I'm afraid I'll never get the courage again. I'm always going to look for excuses." Mike says gently, "But I appreciate you trying to stop me from leaving. It means a lot. Truly."

"Would not filing the paperwork really be the worse thing?" Paige looks at him with begging eyes, appreciating the weight of his hand on hers. "Couldn't you just stay? This is your home."

"Paige… those things I said earlier. I know it seemed like heat of the moment, but it wasn't. Not entirely. I mean, that wasn't exactly how I pictured that conversation happening," Mike blushes at the memory of their animalistic sex in the bathroom. Removing his hand from hers, he rubs his neck anxiously, "But what I said was true. I need to leave. I'm not… I've stayed longer than I should."

"Why did you stay then?" Paige demands.

Mike doesn't answer her. Just stares over at out the window, but he hasn't stood up from his seat on the blanket yet, and Paige takes that as a good sign. Maybe for once in their lives they'll finish a conversation.

"Look you've made up your mind to leave, so nothing matters now. Tell me why you stayed." Paige presses on when he doesn't answer. She needs to know why, so maybe she can change his mind.

"At first I was waiting, hoping you'd fall in love with me. Then when that clearly wasn't going to happen, I was waiting to fall out of love with you." Mike looks down at his hands.

"And... " Paige takes a deep shaky breath, "...Now you have?"

"No." Mike says, and Paige lets out the air she was holding in, "But I know now, that won't happen as long as I stay here. It may not even happen in DC, but at least then I won't be putting everyone in danger. I won't keep hurting you."

"Shouldn't that be my choice?" Paige argues back, and Mike can't believe she won't just let him go. He looks at her like he's evaluating her sincerity, and she can practically see the gears turning in his head. He finally sets his jaw in a way that tells Paige he's made a decision he's not sure about, and she braces herself.

"Do you love me?" Mike demands the words he's wanted to ask since he first met her. Words he's been too afraid to ask, because he knows the answer.

"Mike… I..." Paige looks horrified by the fact that he's raised the stakes of the conversation so suddenly. She didn't know what she had been expecting him to say, but it wasn't that.

"See? I have to leave." Mike starts gathering up his dishes.

"No. Wait. Let me explain." Paige gets up on her knees prepared to stop him from leaving if necessary.

"There's nothing to explain Paige… You've done nothing wrong. I know-" Mike continues gathering his things, shoving empty containers and napkins into the bag.

"Shut up." Paige puts her hand up and cuts off whatever he's about to say as she takes a moment to think about her words before she says them for once. "Look, I've never said those words to anyone. I've tried, I just haven't had the best timing, but I don't want you to think I'm saying them just because I don't want you to leave, which I don't by the way."

"When did you-" Mike begins to ask when, and more importantly who, she tried to say the words to, but she cuts him off.

"When I say those words to you I want you to know it's because I feel it so deeply I can't keep it inside anymore. Not because I'm trying to get my way, or trick you. When I say those words, I want you to have no doubts that I mean it." Paige says, hoping he understands how serious she is.

"When?" Mike asks, picking up on the one little word she used.

"If you go to DC, you may never find out." Paige says, and it's not a threat. Just a plea.

"You say that now, but tomorrow-" Mike drops his eyes again.

"No. I've thought about this too, Mike. You… you asked me earlier tonight how you could go back. I was thinking…" Paige takes a deep breath and then quickly stumbles over the words she's been planning, "What if you didn't go back? What if we went forward?"


End file.
